Culinary Crises Continue Co-opting Cooks

Our December 9 posting on the fluke crudo contretemps was a tentative foray into commentary that diverged from our usual coverage. Clearly we were not prepared to engage our audience in a consistent stream of concern about culinary crises but, now, a new threat has emerged, one that affects thousands of our citizens.

Reports are surfacing from across the national community about Hershey’s Kisses that have reached market shelves sans the familiar pointed tip. Surely, as your mind races to recall the image of a Hershey’s Kiss, it presents the item complete with a pointed tip completing its architecture. The most vociferous responses have arisen mostly from women bakers in homes as they prepare their holiday confections.

“They baked ok but not with the nice pointy tip that I’m used to or expect from Hershey. I’m still steaming,” one irate homemaker offered. In an attempt to quell a potential public relations catastrophe, Hershey produced a social media post praising the distortion as incumbent upon the baking public to accept “diversity.” The company wrote:

Warm hearts this holiday season and take the time to celebrate our differences.

To some, the corporate message was akin to condoning illegal immigration or opposing a border wall, both glaring defects. Among the angry responses:

American bakers want to have REAL answers: What happened, why it happened, what “exactly” they are going to do about it, and when we may expect a resolution to the problem.

A number of baker complainants noted that, upon removal of the silver covering, there were no remains to be found of the missing tips. Suspicions increased, prompting some to speculate that Hershey’s regard for its customers had disappeared entirely or that its quality control function succumbed to holiday cheer.

While the mystery of the missing tips continues unexplained, and many would be unfazed by eating cookies or other baked goods with tipless kisses, there are those who sense the defeat of presenting their wares at the holiday season as not the best of their creations, however acceptable the taste.